Monday, January 30, 2012

Guest bloggers welcome

If you are interested in the Anastasian Wall and want to write something about it, please feel free to submit a guest blog entry.  Comments on postings are always welcome.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Oppose SOPA and PIPA

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

Reposted from Google

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Video Segment about Justinian I



This is a very good video on the reign of Justinian.  Absolutely nothing was mentioned about Anastasius who preceded and appointed the Emperor Justin who then appointed Justinian the new Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.

This video is part of a series concerning the engineering marvels of the Late Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire), but says nothing about the Anastasian Wall, also an engineering wonder.  Justinian also restored the Anastasian Walls.

Why do we know more about Justinian than Anastasius? Much can be attributed to an excellent biographer, Procopius, who sang his praises until he was caught supporting  the wrong side, allying himself with Justinian's general Belesarius.

The documentary about the Anastasian Wall (in progress) , which has been praised by experts, provides the background of this period, which was one of turmoil and one of the most interesting in Late Ancient history. 

Amateur Video of Northen Portion of Anastasian Wall



This is an interesting amateur video along the northern portion of the wall.  This is one of the sections that is better preserved.  One can clearly see that this was not merely a wall made of rubble, but carefully constructed. It is amazing that it has survived for over a thousand years. However, it could be destroyed by development and treasure hunters in a matter of years. It is a relatively unknown treasure of the Late Roman period, but very important as an indicator of the separation and dissolution of the Western Roman Empire and the accession of the Eastern Roman Empire (referred to by historians as the Byzantine Empire) that would not collapse until 1453.  If you are interested in donating to the completion of the documentary on the Anastasian Wall, please contact me at michaelamcadams@yahoo.com and I can direct you  where to send donations. Other non-monetary donation  such as editing, comment, promotion and screening opportunities would also be appreciated.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Ecosystem of the Anastasian Wall

Recently, I came across some images posted on the website Adventure Rider (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=443811) which demonstrates the diversity of human activities and vegetation near the wall. It is important not only to protect the wall from further damage by treasure hunters, but to have a special protection corridor for other historic sites, the environment and culture near the wall. Of particularly importance are wetland areas which provide feeding grounds for pelicans which annually migrate in this region.

For further information about the environment surrounding the wall, go to an earlier blog entry by Franziska Zemmer titled “Report on the natural environment around the Anastasian Wall” (http://anastasianwall.blogspot.com/2009/05/report-on-natural-environment-around.html  ) and a follow up blog entry filed by Ms. Zemmer on proposed management strategies for the area surrounding the Wall (http://anastasianwall.blogspot.com/2009/05/wall-management.html .)